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A new Larca (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Larcidae) from Crete PDF

4 Pages·2002·1.1 MB·English
by  HendrickxH
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Preview A new Larca (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Larcidae) from Crete

280 Bull.Br.arachnol.Soc.(2002)12(6),280–283 A new Larca (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: With the intention to examine further the Cretan Larcidae) from Crete troglobitic fauna, the first author organised three expeditions in 2000. A large number of caves, in the Hans Henderickx mountainousaswellasthecoastalarea,wereexamined. Hemelrijkstraat4, On21December2000theMilatoscave(Crete,province B-2400Mol,Belgium of Lassithi, 35%18.606&N, 25%34.683&E, elevation 200m) wasvisited.Thiscaveisknownforitsbiologicalinterest and and has been the subject of intensive biospeleological investigations. It contains an important colony of bats, Vik Vets andanewgenusofdysderidspiderswasdescribedfrom Oosterveldlaan170, this cave (Deeleman-Reinhold, 1989). The Milatos cave B-2610Wilrijk,Belgium still provides surprises: within it in December 2000 the first author found two specimens of an undescribed Summary pseudoscorpion. The specimens turned out to belong to Larcabosselaersisp.n.,anewtroglobiticpseudoscorpion Larca Chamberlin, 1930 (Larcidae (Harvey, 1992)), a fromCrete,isdescribedandcomparedwithrelatedspecies. genus and family that had not previously been reported ThegenusisnewforGreece. from Crete or Greece. Both authors found 12 more specimens at the same location in May 2001. The new Introduction species is described in this paper. The cave-dwelling pseudoscorpion fauna of Crete is rich and varied. Recently new troglobitic relicts have been described, some very specialised and morphologi- Material and methods cally altered (Henderickx, 1997, 2000). There is also the scattered presence of representatives of unexpected The male paratype T2 was dehydrated in acetone, genera, more or less adapted to cave life, that probably critical-point dried in carbon dioxide, and sputter- colonisedtheislandduringperiodswhenCretewasnear coated with gold before observation with a Philips or attached to the mainland (Henderickx, 1998). XL-20SEM.Therightpedipalpandrightchelicerawere Deeleman-Reinhold (1989) argues that during the separated from the body. After SEM observation, the isolation of Crete in the Quaternary era species evolved goldcoatingwasremovedwithbrominevapour,andthe by splitting off from ancestral forms and adapted to specimen was rehydrated in a vacuum and preserved in live in the shallow cave systems. It is likely that an 70% ethanol. indigenous fauna exists in the porous underground The male paratype T7 and female paratype T11 were system of Crete and that some caves are only gateways graduallydehydratedinalcoholandviaxylolembedded to this mostly unknown ecosystem. Evidence for this in Pertex slides for light microscopy. The chelicerae, view is provided by the discovery of a colony of the pedipalps, and legs I and IV were removed. The hand troglobitic Neobisium (Ommatoblothrus) schawalleri of the pedipalp was partially separated from the tibia, Henderickx, 2000 in the Arkalospiliara cave, Maratos, onlytheconnectionwithmusclesbeingretainedtoallow Crete. This species was previously known only from the hand to rotate by 45% and display the position the Doxa cave, Maratos, which is separated from the of the trichobothria. The specimens were then partially Arkalospiliara cave by a distance of approximately cleared in potassum hydroxide (KOH), dehydrated and 4km. embedded in Pertex. Fig.1: Larcabosselaersisp.n.,maleparatypeT1.aDorsallateralview;bDorsalfrontalview. H.Henderickx&V.Vets 281 All measurements are in mm, except for ratios of the length/width of articles. Larca bosselaersi sp.n. (Figs. 1–6) Type material: Female holotype, Crete, Milatos, Milatos cave, 24 May 2001, leg. Henderickx & Vets, deposited in Western Australian Museum (Mark Harvey), Perth. Paratypes: 12, labelled T1–T12, same locality as holotype.T1(Fig.1),T4,T5,T6,T7(Fig.2a),T8:males, 24 May 2001, leg. Henderickx & Vets; T2, T3: males, 21 December 2000, leg. Henderickx; T9, T10, T11, T12: females, 24 May 2001, leg. Henderickx & Vets. Paratypes T4 and T9 deposited in Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris; paratypes T5 and T10 in Muséumd’HistoirenaturelledeGenève;paratypeT6in Western Australian Museum (Mark Harvey), Perth; the other paratypes in the collection of the authors. Etymology: The species is named after the Belgian arachnologist Dr Jan Bosselaers, to honour his work in the Mediterranean region. Diagnosis: The chaetotaxy is the main character separating the new species from other Larca species. OnlyLarcabosselaersisp.n.,L.lata(Hansen,1884)and L. hispanica Beyer, 1939 have 4 setae on the posterior Fig. 3: Larca bosselaersi sp.n. a Male paratype T2, right chelicera, margin of the carapace, but the cheliceral hand of the dorsalview;bFemaleholotype,rightmovablecheliceralfinger newspeciesbears4setaecomparedwith5inL.lataand with galea, dorsal view; c Holotype female, right pedipalp, 6 in L. hispanica (see also Discussion). dorsalview. Female holotype: Total length (excluding chelicerae) 2.67.Opisthosoma,cheliceraeandlegsbrownishyellow, slender, distally triple pointed; cheliceral hand+fixed poorly pigmented. A pair of muscle spots or sigilla on finger 0.20#0.12. Cheliceral preparations of female tergites 4–10 and on sternites 5–10. Pedipalps and paratype T11 show 16 lamellae on serrula exterior, carapace darker, reddish brown. Carapace (Fig. 2b) 8 lamellae on serrula interior, and flagellum with 4 withoutepistome,0.64#0.71,granulated,with32setae, lanceolate, rudimentary dentate blades. 4+4 on anterior, 4 on posterior margin. Two pairs of Pedipalp (Fig. 3c): slender, coarsely granulated small eyes, both with lenses. Tergal chaetotaxy of (average tubercle diameter 0.007); hand subcylindrical, abdomen:6,7,8,10,13,11,13,13,9,8;twolongtactile elongated; trochanter 0.32#0.20, ratio 1.6; femur setae on tergite X. Sternal chaetotaxy: anterior margin 0.86#0.18, ratio 4.78; tibia 0.75#0.20, ratio 3.75; ofgenitalregionwith10setae,posteriormarginwith13 femur1.15#lengthoftibia;chelalength1.07,handwith setae;sternalformulafromIVtoX:6,10,10,10,10,8, stem 0.66#0.24, ratio 2.75. Fixed finger (length 0.41) 8.Coxalchaetotaxy:pedipalp:12+12;coxaI:8+6;coxa with 31 teeth (distal triangular and pointed, proximal II: 6+6; coxa III: 6+5; coxa IV: 8+10. flattened);surfacegranulateddorsally,smoothindental Chelicera:handwith4setae;movablefinger(Fig.3b) area; with 4 external and 4 internal trichobothria. 0.13#0.05, with 1 distal seta; galea (length 0.07) Movable finger (length 0.46) with 32 teeth (shape as fixed finger); surface smooth; with two external trichobothria. Leg I: trochanter 0.18#0.12, ratio 1.50; femur 0.29#0.10, ratio 2.90; patella 0.23#0.11, ratio 2.09; tibia 0.27#0.08, ratio 3.37; metatarsus 0.19#0.07, ratio 2.71; telotarsus 0.16#0.06, ratio 2.66. Leg IV: trochanter 0.28#0.13, ratio 2.15; femur 0.18#0.13, ratio 1.38; patella 0.46#0.15, ratio 3.07; tibia 0.46#0.10, ratio 4.60; metatarsus 0.24#0.07, ratio 3.43; telotarsus 0.21#0.06, ratio 3.50. Female, variation of pedipalp: Trochanter length 0.31 (T9)–0.32 (holotype), width 0.18 (T9)–0.20 (holotype); femur length 0.86 (holotype)–0.87 (T11), width 0.18 (all Fig. 2: Larca bosselaersi sp.n., carapace, dorsal view. a Male para- females); tibia length 0.70 (T11)–0.77 (T9), width 0.20 typeT7;bFemaleholotype. (all); chela length 1.01 (T11)–1.10 (holotype). 282 AnewLarcafromCrete Discussion Larca was originally defined by Chamberlin (1930). Currently 8 species are known, including the new species. The genus has a wide distribution, including scattered cavernicolous populations. ThenewspeciesandallexceptoneoftheotherLarca spp. have 2 trichobothria on the pedipalpal movable finger (the exception is L. notha Hoff, 1961, with 3 trichobothria).Gardini(1983)madeafurtherseparation basedonthenumberofsetaeontheposteriormarginof the carapace. Larca bosselaersi sp.n. fits in the group with 4 setae (with L. lata (Hansen, 1884) and L. hispanica Beier, 1939). The number of setae on the cheliceral hand of L. bosselaersi (4) differs from that in the widespread epigeic L. lata (5 setae) and L. hispanica (6 setae). The Nearctic species L. chamberlini Benedict Fig.4: Larcabosselaersisp.n.,maleparatypeT2.Rightgalea,dorsal & Malcolm and L. laceyi Muchmore, 1981 also have view. 4 setae on the cheliceral hand, but they have 8 (L. chamberlini) and 6 (L. laceyi) setae on the posterior margin of the carapace. Male paratype T2: Total length (excluding chelicerae) The European L. italica Gardini, 1983 is also 1.90. Colour as holotype. Carapace 0.56#0.66. cavernicolous. The cheliceral hand of this species has 5 Chelicera (Fig. 3a): movable finger 0.12#0.03; galea setae(4inL.bosselaersisp.n.)andtheposteriormargin (Fig. 4) length 0.02, slender but much shorter than in of the carapace has 6–8 setae (4 in L. bosselaersi sp.n.). female, distally triple pointed; cheliceral hand+fixed No epigeic or cavernicolous Larca species was pre- finger 0.17#0.09. viously known from Crete or Greece. The cave (locus Pedipalp(Figs.5,6):trochanter0.22#0.15,ratio1.47; typicus) may have served as a refugium because of the femur0.79#0.15,ratio5.27;tibia0.67#0.16,ratio4.19; constant relative humidity, temperature and food sup- femur1.18#lengthoftibia;chelalength0.96,handwith ply, after a possible epigeic ancestor became extinct. stem0.61#0.19,ratio3.21.Fixedfingerlength0.35,with Similarcaseshavebeenreportedfromothergenera.The 28 teeth; movable finger length 0.43, with 27 teeth; fixed genusLasiochernesisalsoknownonlyfromasinglecave finger0.81#lengthofmovablefinger. on Crete (Lasiochernes cretonatus Henderickx, 1998). Leg I: trochanter 0.15#0.10, ratio 1.50; femur However, transportation by bats, mammals or birds, in 0.26#0.09, ratio 2.89; patella 0.20#0.10, ratio 2.00; recent or ancient times, must be considered as an tibia 0.24#0.08, ratio 3.00; metatarsus 0.18#0.06, alternative explanation for the scattered occurrence of ratio 3.00; telotarsus 0.16#0.05, ratio 3.20. Leg IV: some troglobites. trochanter 0.24#0.11, ratio 2.18; femur 0.15#0.11, The new Larca was first found under a piece of ratio 1.36; patella 0.40#0.13, ratio 3.08; tibia ancient terracotta, next to a pile of bat guano. This 0.39#0.09, ratio 4.33; metatarsus 0.22#0.07, ratio suggests that it feeds on smaller guano-dwellers (e.g. 3.14; telotarsus 0.20#0.06, ratio 3.33. Collembola, Psocoptera). The habitat in the cave is Sexual dimorphism: The galea of the examined specimens is much longer in females than in males. The pedipalps of the males are more slender. Distribution: Known only from the type locality. Fig.5: Larcabosselaersisp.n.,maleparatypeT2.Rightchelalfingers, Fig. 6: Larca bosselaersi sp.n., male paratype T2. Right pedipalp, externallateralview. dorsalview. H.Henderickx&V.Vets 283 unusual. All specimens were found in two small collection of the same. Part II. The Diplosphyronida chambersatthebackofthecave.Thesechambersarein (Arachnida-Chelonethida). Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (10)5: 1–48, 585–620. theupperpartofthecaveandthereforelesshumid.The DEELEMAN-REINHOLD, C. L. 1989: Rhodera n. gen., hypogea soilisdusty.ThedescriptionofthebiotopeoftheItalian n. sp., araignée microphtalme de l’île de Crête, un fossile Larca italica provided by Gardini (1983) is similar. vivant?(Araneae:Dysderidae:Dysderinae).Mém.Biospéol.16: Larcaspeciesingeneralseemtopreferthedryandupper 47–51. parts of their habitats. GARDINI, G. 1983: Larca italica n. sp. cavernicola dell’Appenino Abruzzese (Pseudoscorpionida, Garypidae) (Pseudoscorpioni d’ItaliaXV).Boll.Soc.ent.ital.115:63–69. Acknowledgements HENDERICKX,H.1997:Chthonius(Chthonius)minotaurus(Heter- osphyronida, Chthoniidae), a new troglobitic pseudoscorpion ThanksareduetoDrMarkHarvey,DrMarkJudson fromCrete.Phegea25(2):81–87. and Dr Jan Bosselaers for critical advice and to Kostis HENDERICKX, H. 1998: Lasiochernes cretonatus, a new pseudo- Spithas(Neapolis)andVasilis(Maratos)whoguidedthe scorpion species from Crete (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones). first author to some caves on Crete. Phegea26(4):123–129. HENDERICKX, H. 2000: Neobisium (Ommatoblothrus) schawalleri sp. nov., a new troglobitic pseudoscorpion from Crete References (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Neobisiidae). Phegea 28(2): 5–10. CHAMBERLIN, J. C. 1930: A synoptic classification of the false scorpions or chela-spinners, with a report on a cosmopolitan Bull.Br.arachnol.Soc.(2002)12(6),283–286 Possible role of brain monoamines in the dispersal Introduction behaviour of spiderlings of Hogna carolinensis Biogenic amines (monoamines) are important neuro- (Walckenaer) (Araneae, Lycosidae) transmitters, neuromodulators, and neurohormones in the central nervous systems (CNS) of vertebrates and Fred Punzo invertebrates. In numerous taxa they have been shown Box5F–DepartmentofBiology, toplayaroleinthemediationofarousalandlocomotor UniversityofTampa, activity,short-termandchronicphysiologicalstress,and Tampa,Florida33606,USA aggressiveandsocialdominancerelationships(Bicker& Menzel,1989;Haneyetal.,1990;Corbet,1991;Orchard Summary et al., 1993; Punzo, 2001). In arthropods, monoamines have been shown to play Experiments were conducted to identify neurochemical parameters (changes in brain monoamines) associated a role in the regulation of a variety of physiological with the dispersal of spiderlings of Hogna carolinensis responsesaswellasbehaviour.Mostoftheresearchhas (Lycosidae). Brain weights did not differ over the five-day been conducted on insects. For example, octopamine period immediately after emergence from the egg sac, (OA) turnover rates increased significantly in crickets during which the spiderlings remained attached to the after fighting with conspecifics (Adamo et al., 1995). abdomen of the maternal parent. All spiderlings dispersed fromtheirmothersonday6afteremergence(underrearing Significant increases in foraging and nest defence activi- conditionsof23%C,70%relativehumidity,anda14L:10D ties were associated with higher concentrations of OA, photoperiod regime). Mean brain concentrations of sero- dopamine (DA), and serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, tonin (5-HT) ranged from 56.61–62.23nm/mg for spider- 5-HT)inthebrain(supraoesophagealganglion,SEG)of lingsfromdaysonetofiveafteremergence,thetimeduring worker honeybees (Harris & Woodring, 1992). An which they remained with their mother, and increased to 81.34nm/mg on day 6 (following dispersal), and increase in brain levels of 5-HT has been implicated in 81.13nm/mgforadults.Therewasnosignificantdifference the onset of flight behaviour (dispersal) in boll weevils in 5-HT levels between the brains of adult males and (Guerra et al., 1991). females,orbetween6-dayoldspiderlingsandadults.Levels The role of monoamines in the regulation of physio- of5-HTincreasedsignificantlyonday6afteremergenceas logical parameters and behaviour in arachnids has compared with concentrations recorded on day 5. There werenosignificantdifferencesbetweenmeanbrainconcen- received far less attention. Changes in monoamine trationsofoctopamine(OA)fordays1–5.However,onday concentrations in the SEG were associated with onto- 6,therewasasignificantincreaseinOAlevelsascompared genetic shifts in aggressive behaviour in solifugids withday5.Incontrast,dopamine(DA)concentrationsdid (Punzo, 1998). The increased aggression exhibited by not change significantly at any developmental stage. The later nymphal instars was accompanied by significant possible role of 5-HT and OA in the onset of dispersal behaviourinlycosidspiderlingsisdiscussed. changes in brain 5-HT and DA levels (Punzo, 1993,

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